When Ser Lancel Lannister told the queen that the battle was lost , she turned her empty wine cup in her hands and said , " Tell my brother , ser . " Her voice was distant , as if the news were of no great interest to her . " Your brother's likely dead . " Ser Lancel's surcoat was soaked with the blood seeping out under his arm . When he had arrived in the hall , the sight of him had made some of the guests scream . " He was on the bridge of boats when it broke apart , we think . Ser Mandon's likely gone as well , and no one can find the Hound . Gods be damned , Cersei , why did you have them fetch Joffrey back to the castle ? The gold cloaks are throwing down their spears and running , hundreds of them . When they saw the king leaving , they lost all heart . The whole Blackwater's awash with wrecks and fire and corpses , but we could have held if " Osney Kettleblack pushed past him . " There's fighting on both sides of the river now , Y'Grace . It may be that some of Stannis's lords are fighting each other , no one's sure , it's all confused over there . The Hound's gone , no one knows where , and Ser Balon's fallen back inside the city . The riverside's theirs . They're ramming at the King's Gate again , and Ser Lancel's right , your men are deserting the walls and killing their own officers . There's mobs at the Iron Gate and the Gate of the Gods fighting to get out , and Flea Bottom's one great drunken riot . " Gods be good , Sansa thought , it is happening , Joffrey's lost his head and so have I. She looked for Ser Ilyn , but the King's Justice was not to be seen . I can feel him , though . He's close , I'll not escape him , he'll have my head . Strangely calm , the queen turned to his brother Osfryd . " Raise the drawbridge and bar the doors . No one enters or leaves Maegor's without my leave . " " What about them women who went to pray ? " " They chose to leave my protection . Let them pray ; perhaps the gods will defend them . Where's my son ? " " The castle gatehouse . He wanted to command the crossbowmen . There's a mob howling outside , half of them gold cloaks who came with him when we left the Mud Gate . " " Bring him inside Maegor's now . " " No ! " Lancel was so angry he forgot to keep his voice down . Heads turned toward them as he shouted , " We'll have the Mud Gate all over again . Let him stay where he is , he's the king- " " He's my son . " Cersei Lannister rose to her feet . " You claim to be a Lannister as well , cousin , prove it . Osfryd , why are you standing there ? Now means today . " Osfryd Kettleblack hurried from the hall , his brother with him . Many of the guests were rushing out as well . Some of the women were weeping , some praying . Others simply remained at the tables and called for more wine . " Cersei , " Ser Lancel pleaded , " if we lose the castle , Joffrey will be killed in any case , you know that . Let him stay , I'll keep him by me , I swear- " " Get out of my way . " Cersei slammed her open palm into his wound . Ser Lancel cried out in pain and almost fainted as the queen swept from the room . She spared Sansa not so much as a glance . She's forgotten me . Ser Ilyn will kill me and she won't even think about it . " Oh , gods , " an old woman wailed . " We're lost , the battle's lost , she's running . " Several children were crying . They can smell the fear . Sansa found herself alone on the dais . Should she stay here , or run after the queen and plead for her life ? She never knew why she got to her feet , but she did . " Don't be afraid , " she told them loudly . " The queen has raised the drawbridge . This is the safest place in the city . There's thick walls , the moat , the spikes ... " " What's happened ? " demanded a woman she knew slightly , the wife of a lesser lordling . " What did Osney tell her ? Is the king hurt , has the city fallen ? " " Tell us , " someone else shouted . One woman asked about her father , another her son . Sansa raised her hands for quiet . " Joffrey's come back to the castle . He's not hurt . They're still fighting , that's all I know , they're fighting bravely . The queen will be back soon . " The last was a lie , but she had to soothe them . She noticed the fools standing under the galley . " Moon Boy , make us laugh . " Moon Boy did a cartwheel , and vaulted on top of a table . He grabbed up four wine cups and began to juggle them . Every so often one of them would come down and smash him in the head . A few nervous laughs echoed through the hall . Sansa went to Ser Lancel and knelt beside him . His wound was bleeding afresh where the queen had struck him . " Madness , " he gasped . " Gods , the Imp was right , was right ... " " Help him , " Sansa commanded two of the serving men . One just looked at her and ran , flagon and all . Other servants were leaving the hall as well , but she could not help that . Together , Sansa and the serving man got the wounded Knight. back on his feet . " Take him to Maester Frenken . " Lancel was one of them , yet somehow she still could not bring herself to wish him dead . I am soft and weak and stupid , just as Joffrey says . I should be killing him , not helping him . The torches had begun to burn low , and one or two had flickered out . No one troubled to replace them . Cersei did not return . Ser Dontos climbed the dais while all eyes were on the other fool . " Go back to your bedchamber , sweet Jonquil , " he whispered . " Lock yourself in , you'll be safer there . I'll come for you when the battle's done . " Someone will come for me . Sansa thought , but will it be you , or will it be Ser Ilyn ? For a mad moment she thought of begging Dontos to defend her . He had been a knight too , trained with the sword and sworn to defend the weak . No. He has not the courage , or the skill . I would only be killing him as well . It took all the strength she had in her to walk slowly from the Queen's Ballroom when she wanted so badly to run . When she reached the steps , she did run , up and around until she was breathless and dizzy . One of the guards knocked into her on the stair . A jeweled wine cup and a pair of silver candlesticks spilled out of the crimson cloak he'd wrapped them in and went clattering down the steps . He hurried after them , paying Sansa no mind once he decided she was not going to try and take his loot . Her bedchamber was black as pitch . Sansa barred the door and fumbled . through the dark to the window . When she ripped back the drapes , her breath caught in her throat . The southern sky was aswirl with glowing , shifting colors , the reflections of the great fires that burned below . Baleful green tides moved against the bellies of the clouds , and pools of orange light spread out across the heavens . The reds and yellows of common flame warred against the emeralds and jades of wildfire , flavin each color flaring and then fading , birthing armies of short - lived shadows to die again an instant later . Green dawns gave way to orange dusks in half a heartbeat . The air itself smelled burnt , the way a soup kettle sometimes smelled if it was left on the fire too long and all the soup boiled away . Embers drifted through the night air like swarms of fireflies . Sansa backed away from the window , retreating toward the safety of her bed . I'll go to sleep , she told herself , and when I wake it will be a new day , and the sky will be blue again . The fighting will be done and someone will tell me whether I'm to live or die . " Lady , " she whimpered softly , wondering if she would meet her wolf again when she was dead . Then something stirred behind her , and a hand reached out of the dark and grabbed her wrist . Sansa opened her mouth to scream , but another hand clamped down over her face , smothering her . His fingers were rough and callused , and sticky with blood . " Little bird . I knew you'd come . " The voice was a drunken rasp . Outside , a swirling lance of jade light spit at the stars , filling the room with green glare . She saw him for a moment , all black and green , the blood on his face dark as tar , his eyes glowing like a dog's in the sudden glare . Then the light faded and he was only a hulking darkness in a stained white cloak . " If you scream I'll kill you . Believe that . " He took his hand from her mouth . Her breath was coming ragged . The Hound had a flagon of wine on her bedside table . He took a long pull . " Don't you want to ask who's winning the battle , little bird ? " " Who ? " she said , too frightened to defy him . The Hound laughed . " I only know who's lost . Me . " He is drunker than I've ever seen him . He was sleeping in my bed . What does he want here ? " What have you lost ? " " All . " The burnt half of his face was a mask of dried blood . " Bloody dwarf . Should have killed him . Years ago . " " He's dead , they say . " " Dead ? No. Bugger that . I don't want him dead . " He cast the empty flagon aside . " I want him burned . If the gods are good , they'll burn him , but I won't be here to see . I'm going . " " Going ? " She tried to wriggle free , but his grasp was iron . " The little bird repeats whatever she hears . Going , yes . " " Where will you go ? " " Away from here . Away from the fires . Go out the Iron Gate , I suppose . North somewhere , anywhere . " " You won't get out , " Sansa said . " The queen's closed up Maegor's , and the city gates are shut as well . " " Not to me . I have the white cloak . And I have this . " He patted the pommel of his sword . " The man who tries to stop me is a dead man . Unless he's on fire . " He laughed bitterly . " Why did you come here ? " you " You promised me a song , little bird . Have you forgotten ? " She didn't know what he meant . She couldn't sing for him now , here , with the sky aswirl with fire and men dying in their hundreds and their thousands . " I can't , " she said . " Let me go , you're scaring me . " " Everything scares you . Look at me . Look at me . " The blood masked the worst of his scars , but his eyes were white and wide and terrifying . The burnt corner of his mouth twitched and twitched again . Sansa could smell him ; a stink of sweat and sour wine and stale vomit , and over it all the reek of blood , blood , blood . " I could keep you safe , " he rasped . " They're all afraid of me . No one would hurt you again , or I'd kill them . " He yanked her closer , and for a moment she thought he meant to kiss her . He was too strong to fight . She closed her eyes , wanting it to be over , but nothing happened . " Still can't bear to look , can you ? " she heard him say . He gave her arm a hard wrench , pulling her around and shoving her down onto the bed . " I'll have that song . Florian and Jonquil , you said . " His dagger was out , poised at her throat . " Sing , little bird . Sing for your little life . " Her throat was dry and tight with fear , and every song she had ever known had fled from her mind . Please don't kill me , she wanted to scream , please don't . She could feel him twisting the point , pushing it into her throat , and she almost closed her eyes again , but then she remembered . It was not the song of Florian and Jonquil , but it was a song . Her voice sounded small and thin and tremulous in her ears . Gentle Mother , font of mercy , save our sons from war , we pray , stay the swords and stay the arrows , let them know a better day . Gentle Mother , strength of women , help our daughters through this fray , soothe the wrath and tame the fury . teach us all a kinder way . She had forgotten the other verses . When her voice trailed off , she feared he might kill her , but after a moment the Hound took the blade from her throat , never speaking . Some instinct made her lift her hand and cup his cheek with her fingers . The room was too dark for her to see him , but she could feel the stickiness of the blood , and a wetness that was not blood . " Little bird , " he said once more , his voice raw and harsh as steel on stone . Then he rose from the bed . Sansa heard cloth ripping , followed by the softer sound of retreating footsteps . When she crawled out of bed , long moments later , she was alone . She found his cloak on the floor , twisted up tight , the white wool stained by blood and fire . The sky outside was darker by then , with only a few pale green ghosts dancing against the stars . A chill wind was blowing , banging the shutters . Sansa was cold . She shook out the torn cloak and huddled beneath it on the floor , shivering . How long she stayed there she could not have said , but after a time she heard a bell ringing , far off across the city . The sound was a deep - throated bronze booming , coming faster with each knell . Sansa was wondering what it might mean when a second bell joined in , and a third , their voices calling across the hills and hollows , the alleys and towers , to every corner of King's Landing . She threw off the cloak and went to her window . The first faint hint of dawn was visible in the east , and the Red Keep's own bells were ringing now , joining in the swelling river of sound that flowed from wat Sant the seven crystal towers of the Great Sept of Baelor . They had rung the bells . when King Robert died , she remembered , but this was different , no slow dolorous death knell but a joyful thunder . She could hear men shouting in the streets as well , and something that could only be cheers . It was Ser Dontos who brought her the word . He staggered through her open door , wrapped her in his flabby arms , and whirled her around and around the room , whooping so incoherently that Sansa understood not a word of it . He was as drunk as the Hound had been , but in him it was a dancing happy drunk . She was breathless and dizzy when he let her down . " What is it ? " She clutched at a bedpost . " What's happened ? Tell me ! " " It's done ! Done ! Done ! The city is saved . Lord Stannis is dead , Lord Stannis is fled , no one knows , no one cares , his host is broken , the danger's done . Slaughtered , scattered , or gone over , they say . Oh , the bright banners ! The banners , Jonquil , the banners ! Do you have any wine ? We ought to drink to this I day , yes . It means you're safe , don't you see ? " " Tell me what's happened ! " Sansa shook him . Ser Dontos laughed and hopped from one leg to the other , almost falling . " They came up through the ashes while the river was burning . The river , Stannis was neck deep in the river , and they took him from the rear . Oh , to be a knight again , to have been part of it ! His own men hardly fought , they say . Some ran but more bent the knee and went over , shouting for Lord Renly ! What must Stannis have thought when he heard that ? I had it from Osney Kettleblack who had it from Ser Osmund , but Ser Balon's back now and his men say the same , www and the gold cloaks as well . We're delivered , sweetling ! They came up the roseroad and along the riverbank , through all the fields Stannis had burned , the ashes puffing up around their boots and turning all their armor grey , but oh ! the banners must have been bright , the golden rose and golden lion and all the others , the Marbrand tree and the Rowan , Tarly's huntsman and Redwyne's grapes and Lady Oakheart's leaf . All the westermen , all the power of Highgarden and Casterly Rock ! Lord Tywin himself had their right wing on the north side of the river , with Randyll Tarly commanding the center and Mace Tyrell the left , but the vanguard won the fight . They plunged through Stannis like a lance through a pumpkin , every man of them howling like some demon in steel . And do you know who led the vanguard ? Do you ? Do you ? Do you ? " " Robb ? " It was too much to be hoped , but .... " It was Lord Renly ! Lord Renly in his green armor , with the fires shimmering off his golden antlers ! Lord Renly with his tall spear in his hand ! They say he killed Ser Guyard Morrigen himself in single combat , and a dozen other great knights as well . It was Renly , it was Renly , it was Renly ! Oh ! the banners , darling Sansa ! Oh ! to be a knight ! "
